Semiotics is the study of language and how it is the dominant influence shaping human beings’ perception of and thoughts about the world (Lacey, 1998, p.56). On a simpler note it is the study of signs, in their forms of expressions and contents. As stated by Nick Lacey (1998) in his book titled Image and representation: Key concepts in Media Studies that, ‘’…semiotics is an important discipline in the study of media language.”
[Image of Symbolic Signs]
[Image of Iconic Signs]
[Image of Indexical Sign]
Semiotics is a great tool for analyzing images, in which it can help interpret signs that can be found in the form of symbols, indexical or icons. What makes up the sign is from the combination of its signifier and signified; the signifier is the physical form of the sign as we perceive it through our senses (smell, taste, touch, sight and sound) and the signified is the meaning we associate with the sign (Griffin, 2009, p. 324). C. S. Pierce was a great pioneer of semiotic, where he had created a categorization of signs, which was pointed out earlier in the form of symbols, index and icon. A symbolic sign has no logical meaning between it and the object, and Langer’s theory on symbols is that he sees it as “an instrument of thought”, allowing a person to think about something apart from its immediate presence (Semiotics Theories, n.d.) An index sign has a direct relationship, or casual link, to that which it represents (Lacey, 1998, p. 66) and iconic sign is where the form of the object is close to the real referent. Different people have, different ways in accepting and defining objects. Culture influences the way a person think, hence one sign can be defined in different ways, without the knowledge of cultural codes, and the interpretation of the sign cannot be understood by others. . Example of a Text Analysis
A text has been extracted from a book called ‘Hard Times’ by Charles Dickens, to illustrate the notion of semiotics. ‘Hard Times’ is a book that appraises the English society and is aimed at highlighting the social and economic pressure that England was going through. This particular extraction of a text, centers on ‘Sleary’s Horse-riding’ company, which is a moving circus, where it is a place labeled to be for the ‘freaks’ or ‘unwanted’ people in the society.
"He had reached the neutral ground upon the outskirts of the town, which was neither town nor country, and yet was either spoiled, when his ears were invaded by the sound of music. The clashing and banging band attached to the horse-riding establishment which had there set up its rest in wooden pavilion was in full bray. A flag, floating from the summit of the temple, proclaimed to mankind that it was “ Sleary’s Horse-riding” which claimed their suffrages. Sleary himself, a stout modern statue with a money-box at its elbow, in an ecclesiastical niche of early Gothic architecture, took the money." -Dickens (1961, p. 18)
From the text above, the image of music and a horse has been picked out to use as an example to show an understanding of the use of denotation and connotation; denotation is the literal description and meaning of the sign and connotation is a mythic sign that has lost its historical referent (Griffin, 2009, p. 327). Starting with the image of music, when the denotative sign system is used an, image of musical notes on a frame of five lines called the stave appears in one’s mind. However, there is more to that than it meets the eye, when the connotative sign system is used to translate the meaning of music. Music is not just a bunch of musical notes, dancing along the stave, however in this text it represents freedom; where the people in the circus is able to do what they want without the care in the world of what people think of them, as the working class were very much looked down at in the society that was created by Charles Dickens, in the book ‘Hard Times’.
Another example that is taken out from the text would be the image of the horse. When the horse is denotated, a description of a horse would be a tall four legged creature with a long tail, and has two sharp ears with big nostrils. When the connotative sign system is used, the horse symbolizes strength, determination and respect in the text. The horse can be seen as Pegasus, a Greek mythical creature who had been a companion to the warrior Bellerophon, during the Chimera and The Amazon war, where the strength and determination of Pegasus in helping his companion to go through the war, reflects the way the life of the people in ‘Sleary’s Horse-riding’ company where everybody in the circus had each other’s back.
Anchorage
Anchorage is another, use of a very powerful semiotic tool, where it is used to shape the way people view and see things, as it only interprets and ‘anchor’ the specific sign that is wanted to be sent out.
[Quick Trim Advertisement]
“14 days to a slimmer body!” is the anchorage that is used to deliver out the specific interpretation of the product by the consumers, and using a celebrity is another way of increasing the amount of consumers wanting to try out the product. Without the use of anchorage, the advert can be meaningless. Different readers and viewers may have different interpretations and assessment of the advertisement. However, when the use of anchorage is fully utilized, the interpretation of the main ‘sign’ or message of the product will only go towards one interpretation, which according to this is ‘ the ability of losing weight within a short time frame’. In conclusion, Semiotics are 'signs' that are interpreted through culture and language, where cultures may influence the way a person sees and interpret things and in which language is socially developed. Semiotics is a form and a tool of anchorage, where messages can be directed towards only one way, for all the audience to receive the same sign. Semiotics is something that is more than it meets the eye.
References:
Dickens, C. (1961). Hard Times. USA: Penguin Group
Griffin, E. (2009). A First Look at Communication theory. (7thed.). Glencoe, IL: McGrawHill
Lacey, N. (1998). Image and Representation: Key Concepts in Media Studies. London: Macmillan Press LTD
Olympic Symbols [Image] (n.d.). Retrieved January 2, 2012, from http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~afb21/InfoArch/OlympicSymbols.jpg
Quick Trim Advertisement [Image] (n.d.). Retrieved January 2, 2012 from http://cdn1.kimkcdn.celebuzz.com/files/2010/06/Kim-Kardashian-Quick-Trim-Promo-780x506-492x319.jpg
Semiotics theories (n.d.). Based on semiotics. Retrieved January 5, 2012, from http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/comm321/gwalker/semiotics.htm
Slippery When Wet Sign [Image] (2010). Retrieved January 2, 2012, from http://www.ricesigns.com/real_pictures/slippery_when_wet_signs.jpg
Solar System Symbols Picture [Image] (2012). Retrieved January 2, 2012, from http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/gallery/all_symbols-browse.jpg
